First & foremost congratulations on the success of Psychic Warfare! As a band are you surprised with selling 26,000 copies & charting at #11 or was that fully expected?
T.S – Earth Rocker charted at # 15 so we felt that naturally thet was the next step. We write our music and songs for ourselves and we are lucky enough to have a fan base that comes along for the ride and is excited to hear new music from us.Do you really concern yourselves with the sales numbers?
T.S – Well, now that we have our own record label it’s something that’s on our minds but we still write music for us.Listening to the first two tracks of the record it feels as if there was a central theme for Psychic Warfare, is that the case?
T.S – Honestly, there wasn’t really a central theme for the record.This is the third full length that you’ve worked with longtime producer, Machine. What is it about Machine that keeps you coming back for more?
T.S – He helps us edit things. We have a knack at working a song in circles and beating it into the ground until we really don’t even like it anymore. He’s good at telling us what to keep working on and what to throw away. Plus, we all love the final result of working with him.For 25 years Clutch has had, other than a few years where the band had a dedicated keyboard player, the same members. How has that happen? Most marriages don’t last that long!
T.S. – When I think about it like that, it does seem kind of like a miracle. I think it really has a lot to do with each of us pushing the others to stay creative and fresh along with continuing to moving forward. Another thing is that Clutch has never really had a major setback and we’ve built this thing together.Something about Clutch that I love is that you and Bass player Dan Maines seem to have a very cohesive musical relationship. Many times one instrument seems to take over and drown out the others & with Clutch that doesn’t happen. Is that something that comes with time or is it just a cool studio trick?
T.S. – I would say that vie never really thought about it that much. I think that the most important thing for us is to stay in tune, which has a lot to do with it.Clutch has an old side project called The Bakerton Group. Have you planned to do anything with that in the future?
T.S. – It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything with that. We are all really focused on Clutch right now.Clutch is getting ready to hit the road soon with Lamb of God. Do you prefer to play festivals or smaller clubs?
T.S. – Honestly, I like them both. It’s cool to play to a huge crowd that loves what you’re doing. But clubs are great too.In light of the Paris tragedy, how does your family feel about you heading back to Europe?
T.S. – Actually, my wife hasn’t brought it up. We did play in Paris two weeks after the whole thing went down and it seemed like a lot of the people that were at the Eagles of Death Metal show were there to see us too. It felt like a healing process. It was a pretty heavy show. Neil wrote a post in his Instagram about it that is way better than anything I could say. Neil Fallon via Instagram…\”I still don\’t have the words to speak about the evils that took place in Paris on November 13th. I doubt I ever will. Plenty has been said already. Some very moving words, some very ignorant. For myself, though, I find the commentaries on social media and online outlets to be too easy and too self-serving, however well-intended. I figured the best thing we could do was simply get on the stage and play some rock and roll. Having said that, it hasn\’t been easy. Not a show has gone by that I haven\’t thought about the EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, their fans, the crew at The Bataclan, the patrons of Stade de France and all the other victims who were simply enjoying a beautiful evening in Paris.
\”A lot has been said about bands, particularly American bands, who have cancelled shows and tours. I do not fault them. Nor do I judge them. No one outside of those bands and venues knows the particulars of the circumstances. I do, however, find fault with those that judge them for doing so. It\’s too easy to proclaim \’what should be done\’ whilst sitting in a castle of online anonymity.
\”If the promoters here in Europe had asked us to reschedule, CLUTCH would have done the same.
\”I\’ve been doing this for nearly 25 years now and [Friday] night\’s show in Paris was the most moving experience I\’ve ever had while performing with JP, Tim, and Dan. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. People danced. People sang. People threw liters of beer across the room. By all accounts, it was a typical rock show. But these seemingly ordinary behaviors were extraordinary. The show wasn\’t about CLUTCH. It wasn\’t about rock and roll. It was about the fans. It was about Paris. It was about the indomitable spirit of humanity\’s best retaliating against its worst… with joy. However brief it may have been, I am so grateful to have been a part of that.
\”Thank you, Paris. FLUCTUAT NEC MERGITUR.\”
What makes Weathermaker different than the normal label?
T.S. – Well, firstly we really don’t look at it as a normal record label but rather, as Clutch’s record label. We’re not really looking to sign bands or anything like that. We just want to focus the label on Clutch.
Growing up and living to Washington D.C. what are your opinions on the current political races?
T.S. – Eh… I really don’t have any faith in any politician. I know I don’t have any say in it either way. Let’s put it this way… I can listen to Rage Against the Machine and then go listen to Ted Nugent right after. I think that I might have more to say about the elections if we were voting who had played the heaviest riff.After twenty five years of Clutch is there a song that you’d like to cover?
T.S. – Hmmm, I think that we could play a cool \”Clutchy\” version of Diary of a Madman. It would be more like Son of Virginia but Diary of a MadmanWhat’s your opinion as a fan of the whole AC/DC – Axl Rose situation & in the same situation how would Clutch handle it?
T.S. – When I heard about it I was pretty skeptical but after watching the video of Angus Young playing with Guns N Roses I thought Axl did a pretty good job. I’m sure that people aren’t returning their tickets because he’s the new singer ya’know. As for Clutch…. We’d probably just quit but hey, were not making $8,000,000 a show either. Check out the latest video and tour dates for Clutch below
06-02-16 in Penticton, BC at South Okanagan Events Centre
06-04-16 in Calgary, AB at Calgary Stampede Corral
06-05-16 in Edmonton, AB at Shaw Conference Centre
06-06-16 in Saskatoon, SK at Saskatoon Praireland Exhibition Park Hall
06-07-16 in Winnepeg, MB at Burton Cummings Theatre
Festivals 05-01-16 in Jacksonville, FL at Welcome to Rockville (festival) 05-07-16 in Concord, NC at Carolina Rebellion (festival) 05-13-16 in Council Bluffs, IA at 89.7 The River\’s Rockfest (festival) 05-14 -15-16 in Somerset, WI at Northern Invasion 05-20-16 in Schagticoke, NY at Rock N Derby (festival) 05-21-16 in Columbus, OH at Rock On The Range 06-09 -12- 16 in Manchester, TN at Bonnaroo